While Manchester United continue to contend on all four fronts – having claimed a 2-1 win over Crystal Palace in the Premier League at the weekend – one point of concern for Erik ten Hag will be the loss of Christian Eriksen to injury, with the gifted Dane having been ruled out until the latter stages of the campaign.
While the absence of the 30-year-old – who sustained the ankle issue during the recent FA Cup triumph over Reading – has been somewhat eased by the deadline day arrival of Marcel Sabitzer, it remains to be seen how much of an impact losing such a key figure will have on the Red Devils in the coming months.
The fact that the playmaker’s injury has been a “huge blow” for the club – according to pundit Noel Whelan – is an indication of the impact that the former Tottenham Hotspur man has made since his summer move to Old Trafford, with the experienced ace having been a “massive” part of Ten Hag’s early improvement (as per Whelan).
It is fair to say that not everyone saw the wisdom in bringing in the 120-cap maestro on a free transfer at the time, with talkSPORT pundit Danny Murphy one of the most vocal about his reservations regarding the move, as well as the potential prospect of partnering Eriksen alongside Bruno Fernandes in midfield.
Last July, the former Liverpool and Fulham midfielder stated: “It’s a difficult one because I really like Eriksen. I’ve always admired him in terms of his creativity and the way he’s free with his football and tries things. Would it excite me if I was a United fan? He’s going to be a squad player, isn’t he? He’s not going to play instead of [Bruno] Fernandes.”
Asked if Eriksen is a world-class player, Murphy replied: “No. He’s a welcome addition to any squad because he has experience and he has quality, but if you’re looking at the big games where United compete with Liverpool, City and Chelsea, is he going to play in their first 11? No, is the answer, if they want to be competitive.
“You can’t play him and Fernandes. He’s a number 10 or a number 8. [Paul] Pogba and Fernandes played together on occasion, but not very often and that’s why United were so easy to play against at times.
“If they have two holding players or get [Frenkie] De Jong in, Eriksen could temporarily play as a holding midfielder, but he’s not a holding midfielder. He’s not going to be instead of De Jong. They’ll go for someone like De Jong if they can’t get him. For Eriksen it’s a wonderful opportunity to be at a huge club again after everything he’s been through.
“I can understand why he’d go there, I understand why the draw of Man United would get him over the line, but in the cold light of day if they want to be competitive with Liverpool, City and Chelsea, that’s not the type of signing that United should be making.”
Murphy was not alone in his doubts regarding that deal, with United legend Rio Ferdinand also revealing earlier this season that he too had been “sceptical” about the signing, only to have subsequently admitted that he got it wrong.
While there may well have been concerns over Eriksen’s ability to thrive at the elite level once again – having suffered a cardiac arrest while on international duty just a year prior to his move to the Theatre of Dreams – the former Inter Milan ace had seemingly shown enough during his brief stint at Brentford last season to showcase that he remains a truly reliable creative presence.
After scoring once and laying on four assists in just 11 games during his six-month spell with the Bees, the 5 foot 11 “genius” – as described by Statman Dave – has since gone on to flourish even further for United, having more than proven Murphy and co wrong.
Prior to his recent injury woes, the £150k-per-week sensation has missed just one game all season, having chipped in with two goals and provided nine assists in 31 outings across all fronts, with 27 of those appearances coming from the start.
Lauded by United icon Paul Scholes as someone who “plays with intelligence”, Eriksen has formed a reliable midfield partnership with Casemiro of late, with the pair having brought ‘style and substance’ in the centre of the park, as per the Independent’s Rich Jolly.
Although the former Ajax gem has perhaps felt the toll of his regular game-time in recent weeks – having looked ‘tired’ according to Manchester Evening News journalist Tyrone Marshall – that has done little to detract from what has proven a truly astute bargain signing.
To put it simply, Eriksen has left Murphy eating his words.
